The 36-year-old Arroyo is approaching the end of his career and has managed to put in 10 consecutive seasons as a consistent starting pitcher.

Despite sporting an unglamorous 4.19 career ERA, Arroyo has remained a fixture in the MLB and generated plenty of interest as a free agent this winter for his longevity. As ESPN.com expert Jayson Stark highlights, Arroyo is tied with Dan Haren for the most starts (297) among major league pitchers since the beginning of the 2005 season.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports reported on Wednesday, Feb. 5 that the Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks and Baltimore Orioles were all interested in acquiring the right-handed hurler:

An uneven stretch with the Cincinnati Reds has taken up a good portion of Arroyo's playing days, and his career record is 138-127.

However, health is as valuable of a commodity as MLB clubs can hope for. That caused one American League executive to sympathize with Arroyo's lack of understanding as to why it took so long for a deal to be struck, per Stark's report:

I'm not surprised that he doesn't get it, because I don't get it, either. I guess people are concerned about his age [he turns 37 next month]. But he's 37 going on 27. He's got a loose, limber body. He's never been on the DL. He never misses a start. He doesn't cost you a draft pick. He's a tremendous teammate. He's helped a lot of [young] pitchers on his team. So I don't understand it. I really don't.

With a diverse pitching arsenal headlined by an effective curveball, power pitching has never been Arroyo's modus operandi. Instead, he relies on a lot of movement and manipulation on his fastball, a deceptive delivery and differing arm angles to throw hitters off.

One area Arroyo has seldom gotten opportunities to shine is the playoffs, where he notched his first victory in 13 appearances in Game 2 of the 2012 NLDS.

Arizona is banking on Arroyo's improved play and long-term sustenance in the past two seasons, where he's posted WHIP numbers of 1.21 and 1.15, respectively. He hasn't gotten ideal run support and has played in a hitter-friendly ballpark. That helps to explain his combined record of 26-22 in that span.

Pitching to contact is a dangerous philosophy for an aging arm such as Arroyo to have, but he's evidently shown enough that he can continue to contribute to an MLB rotation.